Dutch Tv Comedy Pokes Fun At Pope John Paul Ii

July 27, 1985|By Frisco Endt, Special to the News/Sun-Sentinel

Nothing is sacred on Dutch television. Comedy sketches about Pope John Paul II built a huge Dutch following earlier this year for a weekly cabaret-style satirical program written and performed by two journalists.

Pisa, aired by socialist TV company VARA on the government network, pokes fun at everyone from Holland`s Queen Beatrix to President Reagan.

But it was Pope John Paul II`s impending official visit in May -- viewed skeptically by many progressive Dutch Catholics -- that brought overnight stardom to Henk Spaan and Harry Vermeegen.

Spaan, in flowing papal robes, began prime time each Saturday night program by kissing the studio floor.

One of the program`s big attractions was the catchy song performed every by the papal impersonator and his uniformed chauffeur: Popie Jopie (pronounced ``popee yopee``) and derived from the words Pope and Joop (Dutch for John).

The song`s refrain goes something like this: My name is Popie Jopie/I am happy because I travel around/And when I arrive/I kiss the ground.

The song has a hard beat and within two weeks became the No. 1 song in every Dutch disco and soared to the top of the Dutch hit parade. More than 55,000 records, produced by EMP, were sold.

Spaan and VARA even came up with ``Popie Jopi`` scarves and sold 15,000 in one week.

No one was more amazed than Spaan and Vermeegen when 4.5 million viewers -- one-third of the Netherlands population -- began tuning in to their brand of Dutch humor.

During the program, Mr. Vermeegen would drive the ``Pope`` around in a copy of the famous bullet-proof Popemobile. Mr. Vermeegen always veered too late at corners, so his pope would roll out, cursing loudly, a scene that left anti-papal Dutchmen roaring with laughter.

The pope is a tough act to follow. The two performers are giving the program a rest this summer and will resume in the new fall season.